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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, February 2001, p. 519-524, Vol. 39, No. 2
Department of Clinical
Microbiology,1 and Department of
Infection Immunology,10 Hygiene-Institute, and
Department of Occupational and Social Hygiene, Institute of
Environmental Health,5 University of Vienna,
Vienna, Austria; Institute of Respiratory Diseases, IRCCS
Policlinico, University of Milan, Milan, Italy2;
Department of Clinical Virology, Umeå University Hospital, Umeå,
Sweden3; Division of Infectious Diseases,
Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore,
Maryland4; Institute of Medical
Microbiology, Medical University of Lübeck, Lübeck,
Germany6; Research Laboratory for
Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Public Health and the
Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands7;
Department of Clinical Virology, Malmö General
Hospital, University of Lund, Lund,
Sweden8; and Department of Medical
Microbiology and Genitourinary Medicine, University of Liverpool,
Liverpool, United Kingdom9
Received 16 August 2000/Returned for modification 11 November
2000/Accepted 25 November 2000
The reported rate of detection of Chlamydia pneumoniae
DNA within atherosclerotic lesions by PCR varies between 0 and 100%. In this study, identical sets of coded experimental atheroma samples (n = 15) and spiked controls (n = 5)
were analyzed by 16 test methods in nine centers by means of PCR. The
positive controls were correctly identified to levels of 1, 0.1, and
0.01 inclusion bodies of C. pneumoniae/ml of tissue
homogenate by 16 (100%), 11 (69%), and 3 (19%) of the test methods,
respectively. Three out of 16 negative controls (19%) were rated
positive. Positivity rates for atheroma samples varied between 0 and
60% for the different test methods, with the maximum concordant result
for positivity being only 25% for one carotid artery sample. There was
no consistent pattern of positive results among the various
laboratories, and there was no correlation between the detection rates
and the sensitivity of the assay used.
0095-1137/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JCM.39.2.519-524.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Multicenter Comparison Trial of DNA Extraction
Methods and PCR Assays for Detection of Chlamydia
pneumoniae in Endarterectomy Specimens

*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Clinical Microbiology, Hygiene-Institute, University of Vienna, Vienna University Hospital, Währinger Gürtel 18-20/5P, A-1090
Vienna, Austria. Phone: 43 (1) 40400-5151. Fax: 43 (1)
40400-5228. E-mail: Petra.Apfalter{at}akh-wien.ac.at.
Present address: Department of Infection, Virology Section, St.
Thomas' Hospital, London SE 1 7EH, United Kingdom.
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